Pope Francis broke his silence on protests in Iran on Monday, denouncing the country’s use of the death penalty following protests in recent months demanding “greater respect for the dignity of women”.
“The right to life is also under threat in those places where the death penalty is still imposed, as is the case today in Iran, following recent demonstrations demanding greater respect for women’s dignity,” said the leader of the Catholic Church. Church, speaking in the annual address to ambassadors accredited to the Vatican.
Francis highlighted the sectors of greatest concern to the Holy See, linking the Vatican’s opposition to abortion to its reluctance to the death penalty. home year.
“The death penalty cannot be used for a supposed state justice, as it neither constitutes a hindrance nor does justice to the victims, but only feeds the thirst for revenge,” he stressed.
These comments by the pope marked his first public statements about the protests that erupted in Iran in September following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the so-called “morality police”.
Mahsa Amini had been arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.
At least four people have been executed since the demonstrations began, following swift closed-door trials that have been criticized around the world.
The demonstrations also killed at least 519 people and arrested more than 19,200 others, according to human rights activists in Iran, who have followed the protests from the start.
Francis has been careful not to criticize Iran’s government for its attempts to promote dialogue with the Muslim world.
The pope has built a strong relationship with the Imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo, the seat of Sunni discipleship, but efforts to reach a dialogue with the Shia side have been more cautious, though he had a historic meeting with the 2021 highest cleric in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Al Sistani, born in Iran.
Iran continued to respond to the Vatican leader’s remarks, although Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called for a “strict” response to the demonstrations in Tehran today.
Ali Khamenei said those who set fire to public places committed “unquestionable treason” – a crime punishable by death in the Islamic Republic.
Source: DN
